At the age of 17, Blake Lively stepped into a shared pair of blue jeans and, along with co-stars America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel and Amber Tamblyn, became a rising star with the teen set after starring in her first major film, "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" (2005). Perhaps it was fate that the blonde, California-bred actress who grew up on a variety of film sets would one day join the family business. Lively made her acting debut at age 10 with a bit part in the film "Sandman" (1998), directed by her father, but she put aside her acting ambitions to focus on academics, only to return years later for her breakout role in "Sisterhood." She began climbing the A-list ladder with a small part in the college comedy "Accepted" (2006) and one of the title roles in "Elvis and Annabelle" (2007). Primed for stardom, Lively reached new heights after landing the leading role of the fashionable Serena van der Woodsen on the popular teen drama, "Gossip Girl" (The CW, 2007-12). With fame came tabloid gossip, most of it centered on her off-set relationship with co-star and childhood friend, Penn Badgley and her secret 2012 wedding to Ryan Reynolds. Because of the show's collective hold on the public's...

At the age of 17, Blake Lively stepped into a shared pair of blue jeans and, along with co-stars America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel and Amber Tamblyn, became a rising star with the teen set after starring in her first major film, "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" (2005). Perhaps it was fate that the blonde, California-bred actress who grew up on a variety of film sets would one day join the family business. Lively made her acting debut at age 10 with a bit part in the film "Sandman" (1998), directed by her father, but she put aside her acting ambitions to focus on academics, only to return years later for her breakout role in "Sisterhood." She began climbing the A-list ladder with a small part in the college comedy "Accepted" (2006) and one of the title roles in "Elvis and Annabelle" (2007). Primed for stardom, Lively reached new heights after landing the leading role of the fashionable Serena van der Woodsen on the popular teen drama, "Gossip Girl" (The CW, 2007-12). With fame came tabloid gossip, most of it centered on her off-set relationship with co-star and childhood friend, Penn Badgley and her secret 2012 wedding to Ryan Reynolds. Because of the show's collective hold on the public's imagination, Lively found herself on the covers of countless magazines while she continued to land roles in major films like "The Town" (2010) and "Green Lantern" (2011), all of which proved that the talented actress was ready to reach a new level of stardom.

Born on Aug. 25, 1987, Lively was raised in Tarzana, CA in a close-knit show business family. Her father, Ernie Lively, was a veteran Hollywood actor and director; her mother, Elaine Lively, a talent agent. Lively was the youngest of five siblings, a group which included her actor brothers Jason and Eric and actress sisters Robyn and Lori. At five years of age, she lost out on a major role in the Robin Williams comedy "Mrs. Doubtfire" (1993), but was one of two finalists. Her parents attempted to alleviate any possible nervousness by telling the young Lively that she would be acting opposite Williams' twin brother in her audition. At age 10, Lively had made her acting debut in a film entitled, "Sandman" (1998), but the experience did not leave her wanting more work. Lively had little interest in acting and no plans to go into the family business, as there were plenty of siblings to carry on that mantle. Instead she focused on her studies. As a student at Burbank High School, she became a nationally recognized choir singer and a popular figure at school, as both her class president and a cheerleader.

Despite her academic leanings, Lively's siblings were convinced their sister had the family gift and would take to it if given the right opportunity. In 2003, older brother Eric took her on a two-month jaunt across Europe, hoping to help her determine her future. A year later, he then took the liberty of introducing her to his agent, insisting she should be sent out to read for parts. One day, their agent set her up on an audition for a feature adaptation of the coming-of-age novel "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" (2005). Lively loved the material, but did not have an acting resume. Her audition consisted of the presentation of her headshot and an exit, but the producers and director Ken Kwapis saw what they were looking for in her nonetheless. Just before the end of her junior year of high school in 2004, Lively was off to Mexico to film her scenes for "Sisterhood " playing one of four friends who split up during one summer of discovery and pass around a lucky pair of jeans. As Bridget, the group member who pursues soccer and love while spending her summer at a soccer camp, Lively spent two months beforehand prepping her soccer. In an uncomplicated bit of casting, her dad took the part of her onscreen father.

By the time Lively's senior year rolled around, she had been bitten enough by the acting bug, that she deferred an admission to Stanford University for fall of 2005 in order to continue her career. Over that summer, she took a part in her father's producing effort, the thriller "Simon Says" (2007), in which she starred along with Lively's sisters, Lori and Robyn, as the terrorized victims of demented killer Crispin Glover. "Sisterhood" was released in June to glowing critical reviews and became a modest box office hit. She then continued on with Universal Pictures' college comedy "Accepted" (2006). Looking for more dramatic challenges, Lively also starred in the independent drama "Elvis and Anabelle" (2007), in which she played the part of a dead beauty queen resurrected by the kiss of Max Minghella's morgue worker.

Upon the release in "Accepted" in the summer of 2006, Lively was already transitioning into two new challenges, particularly the world of television and series leading roles, as the anchoring actress on the pilot for "Gossip Girl" (The CW, 2007-12), a teen drama series based on the series of Cecily Von Ziegesar novels of the same name. Lively took on the role of Serena, a savvy girl operating within New York's privileged and debauched world of private schools. The program premiered in the fall of 2007 and was one of the more talked about debuts, garnering enough ratings to return the following year when the writer's strike of 2008 cut its first season short. Meanwhile, Lively had proved a hit with young audiences and earned a number of Teen Choice Awards. She followed with the successful sequel "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" (2008), which found her character a year older and contemplating an archeology career abroad. Lively next had a supporting role in the adaptation of Rebecca Miller's best-selling novel "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee" (2009) and appeared in one of the twelve short films that made up the anthology, "New York, I Love You" (2009).

The following year, Lively impressed with a small, but pivotal - and decidedly unglamorous - role in writer-director-actor Ben Affleck's gritty crime drama "The Town" (2010), in which she played the slatternly ex-girlfriend of Affleck's conscience-stricken bank robber. Next, she appeared as aeronautics executive Carol Ferris, the love interest of the ring-wielding superhero "Green Lantern" (2011), which disappointed at the box office. Almost of more interest to fans was the developing romance between her and the movie's star, Ryan Reynolds, which began during filming. After a co-starring role alongside Chloë Grace Moretz in the controversial indie crime drama "Hick" (2011), Lively joined an ensemble cast that included Taylor Kitsch, Salma Hayak, Benicio del Toro and John Travolta for the Oliver Stone directed thriller "Savages" (2012). Unfortunately the impressive star-power of the film failed to translate into the hoped for bonanza at the box office, and once again it was Lively's personal life that most fascinated her fans and the press. Less than a year after beginning their relationship, Lively and Reynolds tied the knot in a private wedding ceremony held at a historic plantation in South Carolina in September 2012.